Simply divan

5:05 a.m. EST, May 8, 2012|Charoen Kittikanya, The Bangkok Post

Ladda Kanungvanichkul and her spouse Somyos Chantra lucked into the Chinese lacquer furniture and Oriental antiques after what the couple were asked to bring back from China on a trip turned into a very lucrative business.

The former mother-of-pearl furniture trader and manufacturer found her business in trouble when Thais' craze for costly and luxurious handmade, bone-inlaid and mother-of-pearl furniture started fading away more than two decades ago.

"People under age 40 now consider mother-of-pearl furniture to be old-fashioned. Some even say they would not even take it even if it were free," said Mrs Ladda.

It took awhile _ and some luck _ before she even noticed the change in taste. A few pieces of Chinese antique furniture she ordered just to fill a container along with some Chinese medicine cabinets a close friend suggested she buy all sold in just a couple of days. By contrast, the mother-of-pearl furniture in the same container stood idle in her shop for a long time.

Expats make up 40%, says Mrs Ladda.

From these few pieces, small antique furniture items for import quickly filled the entire container and eventually replaced the mother-of-pearl trade for the most part. The couple finally decided to scrap their local mother-of-pearl furniture production.

With business flourishing, the couple opened the present Thavorn Chinese House as China House in 1990, selling largely imported Chinese antique furniture aged 100-120 years and made mostly from yumu or elmwood, which was commonly used in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Thavorn Chinese House now has three locations _ Chatuchak Plaza, the Crystal Design Center on Praditmanutham Road and the main branch in Sena Nikhom Soi 7.

To ensure a steady supply and product quality, the company has set up a 1,000-square-metre warehouse and repair centre in China's Guangdong province to handle cleaning, repair, decoration, polishing and painting by Chinese craftsmen.

At present, contracted artisans repair and restore all kinds of Chinese furniture and tailor it to customers' needs. The products now range from large cabinets and beds to stands, shelves, chairs and benches, tables and desks, doors, screens, shutters and even accessories such as Buddha images, fretwork, woodcuts and wall hangings.

The company imports all the refurbished furniture from its China-based warehouse every 30-45 days as demand grows, particularly among architects, interior designers, younger people graduating from abroad, spa or hotel operators, politicians, foreign diplomats/expats.

Mrs Ladda said expats including foreign diplomats now comprise 40% of Thavorn Chinese House's customers. Some even buy the Chinese antique furniture by the container load. The company also wholesales its refurbished furniture through 20-28 individual traders in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.

"After gradually raising the proportion over the years, almost 100% of what we import and make available through outlets now is Chinese antique furniture," said Mrs Ladda, adding that some mother-of-pearl furniture left over in stock remains available.

She said advanced technology such as the internet has facilitated her business. When the couple started, they had to travel to remote Chinese villages to search for antique furniture accumulated by well-off villagers.

"It's a bit appalling to recall it. We'd travel to remote areas of Zhejiang province with more than 100,000 yuan in cash in a rucksack in our quest for rare antique pieces that are more usually found in museums and private collections. And one day we were stranded in heavy rain on a mountain when our car became stuck in the mud," said Mrs Ladda, now 52.

"But we've always managed to stay safe, and our business in China has never encountered major obstacles or cheating. We've been lucky to have met mostly good people."

She said the antique furniture purchases are now made mainly via the internet, but also by word of mouth among locals who increasingly know how to procure and trade with the company, mainly through the Guangdong-based warehouse.

Mrs Ladda flies almost each month to China to examine the quality of repaired products before they are allowed to be shipped to Thailand or elsewhere.

She was not willing to disclose exact annual sales figures in terms of either volume or value, instead saying only that the number is less than 100 million baht. That excludes the value of the stock of more than 100 pieces at the Sena Nikhom headquarters and the warehouse in China. The company has also opened an outlet selling Thai furniture in Guangzhou, but she said business is not thriving like the Chinese furniture sales in in Thailand, as copying is prevalent.

"Despite more new entrepreneurs importing Chinese antique furniture in Thailand, we remain upbeat about sales prospects, as demand remains strong," said Mrs Ladda.

She brushed aside the possibility of expanding distribution outlets, saying the company would rather let expansion be handled by the retail customers.